Sony Targeted in New Online Hacking Attempts

Sony Corp., the world’s second- largest maker of video-game machines, halted about 93,000 user accounts of its online gaming and entertainment services after finding attempts of unauthorized access.

Attempts were made between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10 to break into 35,000 accounts used in the U.S. and 24,000 in Europe using the correct combination of passwords and user names, according to Satoshi Fukuoka, a Sony spokesman. There hasn’t been a complaint made by customers and credit card information hasn’t been leaked, the Tokyo-based said in a statement today.

The suspension comes three months after the maker of PlayStation game consoles resumed online services following an hacker attacks that began in April and compromised more than 100 million customer accounts, the second-largest online data breach in U.S. history. The affected accounts comprise less than 0.1 percent of Sony’s customers using the online services, Fukuoka said.

The intruders probably used passwords and user names that are set for other companies’ services, Sony said in the statement. The company said it plans to send an email to the users of the suspended accounts asking them to change their passwords.

Sony rose 1 percent to 1,512 yen as of 12:31 p.m. in Tokyo trading. The stock has plummeted 48 percent this year, compared with a 16 percent decline for the broader Topix index.

Sony Corp., the world s second- largest maker of video-game machines, halted about 93,000 user accounts of its online gaming and entertainment services after finding attempts of unauthorized access.Attempts were made between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10 to break into 35,000 accounts...